Big Ten Tournament 2022: Betting Tips for Round 2 Odds, Spreads and over-Under

The most important game of the 2022 Big Ten tournament leads off Thursday's second-round action.

The Michigan Wolverines and Indiana Hoosiers both need victories to help solidify their respective spots in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. 

Michigan enters Indianapolis in better shape because it upset the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday, but a loss to Indiana would damage its resume ahead of Selection Sunday. 

Indiana is the "First Team Out" on the latest bracket update from ESPN's Joe Lunardi, who has Michigan on the "Last Four Byes" line. 

The Hoosiers are in that position because they lost seven of their last nine games. That form may be the main reason not to trust them as an underdog on the spread on Thursday. 

The other three second-round games carry less drama, but they are still important to the teams involved, including the Michigan State Spartans. 

Tom Izzo's team suffered a rough end to the regular season and it could use a strong performance against the Maryland Terrapins to gain confidence for the rest of the month. 

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

No. 9 Indiana vs. No. 8 Michigan (-3) (Over/Under: 136.5) (11:30 a.m. ET, BTN)

No. 12 Northwestern vs. No. 5 Iowa (-8) (O/U: 147.5) (2 p.m. ET, BTN) 

No. 10 Maryland vs. No. 7 Michigan State (-2.5) (O/U: 139.5) (6:30 p.m. ET, BTN) 

No. 11 Penn State vs. No. 6 Ohio State (-5) (O/U: 129.5) (9 p.m. ET, BTN)

Michigan positioned itself better than Indiana to land a spot in the NCAA tournament. 

The Wolverines alternated wins and losses over the last nine games. In the process, they picked up wins over the Purdue Boilermakers, Iowa Hawkeyes, Rutgers Scarlet Knights and Ohio State Buckeyes. 

That collection of victories allowed Michigan to move above other bubble teams, and its play in those contests should give you confidence that it can put away Indiana on Thursday. 

Indiana has no one to blame but itself for its precarious position on the bubble. The Hoosiers lost seven of their last nine games. The only wins in that stretch were over the Maryland Terrapins and Minnesota Golden Gophers. 

The Hoosiers have not beaten a team with a single-digit seed in the Big Ten tournament since they defeated Purdue on January 20. 

All of those factors should produce little confidence in the Hoosiers getting the job done in Indianapolis. They could be bound for the NIT if they fall to the Wolverines. 

Michigan State is firmly in the field of 68, but it needs to play better in Indianapolis to be a team that wins games next week and does not lose right away. 

The Spartans lost five of six games before they rebounded with a 10-point victory over Maryland in Sunday's regular-season finale. 

Michigan State made parts of the second half more difficult on itself, but it closed out the Terps at home to gain some confidence after a brutal stretch of results. 

Tom Izzo's team is the much better squad than the Maryland team it beat twice in the regular season and that should show on Thursday.

Michigan State's problem in losses was a high concession of points, but it earned its last five victories by holding opponents under 70 points. 

Maryland failed to reach the 70-point mark in 11 of its 13 Big Ten losses. As long as Michigan State holds the Terps below that line, it should move on with relative ease. 

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